Nope, but makes a producer's pocket heavier :D
When you realize that, you got a little smarter
Does creatine make you smarter?
71–80 of 289 posts
Re: Does creatine make you smarter?
#72Good discussion, but this conclusion: > I don’t know. Maybe a little. is not the right way to interpret the null result (insufficient evidence to reject null hypothesis that it has no effect) because the prior for supplements that people are trying to sell you is so low. In the absence of clear, strong evidence, you should assume the the whole thing is just an example of motivated reasoning. People want nootropics to…
mandatory XKCD https://xkcd.com/882/ "Jellybeans cause acne"
Re: Does creatine make you smarter?
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're being academically rigorous about it, sure, but I think it's fine as an informal conclusion.
What value is there to an informal conclusion when the topic is as important as intelligence? The downsides to creatine if taken without good scientific backing should not be disregarded, yet that’s exactly what many ordinary people are now doing because of “informal conclusions” like this.
Are there really downsides to creatine though? (Genuine question). All the advice I've seen makes it seem like it's basically just good for you even if it doesn't accomplish some specific thing. The only downside I've heard is maybe water retention?
Re: Does creatine make you smarter?
#74I remember learning about Creatine as a weightlifting teen I never ended up doing it because you had to cycle it, and it was just one more thing to track Is it the same case in 2026? Is there a simple pill I can take?
Cycling creatine was the guidance from the 90s. 5g/day and drink plenty of water is all you need to do.
Re: Does creatine make you smarter?
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're being academically rigorous about it, sure, but I think it's fine as an informal conclusion.
What value is there to an informal conclusion when the topic is as important as intelligence? The downsides to creatine if taken without good scientific backing should not be disregarded, yet that’s exactly what many ordinary people are now doing because of “informal conclusions” like this.
What are the "downsides"? It is one of the most studied substances and except in special cases like kidney issues it is totally safe.
Re: Does creatine make you smarter?
#76The conclusions aren't any different (it's one of the few thing that helps strength, poses no danger to your hair, and almost certainly does nothing for cognition), but the articles at https://www.strongerbyscience.com/?s=creatine are far more comprehensive, including the famous extremely long podcast episodes they used to do. The one thing this misses is many supplements are tainted, which skews the popular percepti…
"poses no danger to your hair" I keep hearing folks say this, and even in this thread there's someone who's experienced that and had it stop when they eliminated creatine. I too have experienced exactly that with exactly the stopping of issues once I stopped taking creatine.
Perhaps you can say "danger to your hair is rare", but there's very clearly (to me at least) an effect there, and the way it gets hand-waved away is strange to me.
Re: Does creatine make you smarter?
#77Okay, I skimmed the article.
Is creatine safe to supplement for children?
Re: Does creatine make you smarter?
#78I remember learning about Creatine as a weightlifting teen I never ended up doing it because you had to cycle it, and it was just one more thing to track Is it the same case in 2026? Is there a simple pill I can take?
That’s never been the case, you were getting bad information.
It was certainly the case that gym bros thought you had to cycle it. But you're right that this was never necessary.
Re: Does creatine make you smarter?
#79Given LLM's is being smarter still a worthwhile to optimize with supplements?
Productivity isn’t the only reason to be smarter. For example, there’s also the benefit of asking fewer inane questions on the internet (hypothetically)
LoL.maybe the question is not phrased in the best way, English as a second language and laziness, but it's a pretty decent question.
Re: Does creatine make you smarter?
#80>Contrary to the common myth, thinking hard does not burn significantly more calories. (Demonstration: Start thinking hard, and watch as your heart rate does not increase.) this is wrong [0] , it's just hard to measure. [0]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32314956/
The original claim is not wrong. Thinking hard does not burn significantly more calories.
If it’s really hard to measure because the amount is so small that it requires precise equipment, it’s not significant relative to the rest of the body’s energy expenditure.